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Regular-article-logo Tuesday, 09 June 2026

DALIT-MUSLIM AXIS AGAINST PARIVAR 

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FROM KAY BENEDICT Published 25.04.02, 12:00 AM
New Delhi, April 25 :    New Delhi, April 25:  Dalits have joined hands with Muslims to fight the 'oppressive' policies of the Sangh parivar in the wake of the Gujarat riots. This could upset the calculations of the Sangh parivar and the electoral dynamics of some parties, especially the Bahujan Samaj Party. The All-India Confederation of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Organisations and the Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind today jointly launched the 'Save India Front' to organise people at the 'grassroots' level to fight the 'divisive' and 'communal' politics of Sangh outfits and save the country from breaking up. The front will organise a joint rally at the Ramlila maidan here on May 2 'to halt further division of the country and bloodshed in Gujarat'. Similar rallies will also be organised at various state capitals. Among the demands of the front are removal of chief minister Narendra Modi, a ban on the RSS, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal, no tampering with the Constitution, reservation in higher judiciary and in other fields for Dalits, Muslims and backwards. The organisers said the VHP and the Bajrang Dal are 'enticing and forcing Dalits against Muslims so that it becomes a conflict between Muslims and Dalits'. 'Holding rallies at the Ramlila grounds and Jantar Mantar besides editorials are not going to stop the poison being spread by the VHP and the Bajrang Dal. We are taking the fight to the grassroots level,' said Udit Raj aka Ram Raj, convener of the front and chairman of the confederation of SC/ST organisations which has over 30 lakh members. Maulana Mahmood Madani of Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind is the co-convener. Madani said the attack in Gujarat is not on a community but on the country. 'Hindustanis once unitedly fought the British. Now we have to fight against the Englishmen again, the desi black Englishmen who are out to ruin the fair name of Hinduism,' he added. Addressing a joint news conference here today, they said communal violence in Gujarat had ruptured the bond between different communities and if not halted, may lead to further division of the country. They said the front would involve all like-minded people, NGOs, intellectuals and groups to make the movement a success. Asked if any political party will be involved, Raj said they had not given the matter a thought. Raj, who converted to Buddhism last November along with over 10,000 other Dalits, said: 'The powerful army in Russia could not prevent break-up of the Soviet Union. The army and police cannot maintain unity of a country. USSR is a living example. It had the biggest army yet it was broken. The Constitution is in danger. Humanity is in danger,' he said, warning that India may go the Soviet way if violence was not stopped. 'If the Dalits and the Muslims join hands together, it would a huge force,' he said. Asked why the BSP, a Dalit party, was not being roped in, Raj said the BSP was sold out to the BJP and the Sangh and that his organisation had no faith in that party. 'So far, communal and caste riots ended in three or four days' time but in Gujarat the violence is still continuing even 55 days later. Not a single Muslim home or shop which VHP and Bajrang Dal activists knew of were spared,' Raj said. He alleged that a computerised list of victims was given to rioters on February 28 and they carried out their work with full support of the administration. Raj said protests against the carnage so far have been small and isolated and that the front rally was meant to convey a message to the Sangh. 'We want to tell them that they cannot get away,' he said.    
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